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Mint imperial – a guide to the Lamiaceae family 

RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival celebrates the mint family in a range of feature beds. Also known as the deadnettle or sage family, Lamiaceae feature some of the most loved and well-known plants. They’re often scented and widely used as culinary and medicinal herbs

Meet the family 

Lamiaceae is the sixth largest family of flowering plants with seven sub-families, 236 genera and more than 7,000 species. Lamiaceae includes wildflowers, trees and many common garden plants we grow for their vibrant flowers, pollinator-attracting properties and to liven our senses. What would the herb bed do without rosemary, lavender, basil, thyme, oregano, sage and, of course, mint?

Agastache rugosa ‘Golden Jubilee’
Ocimum basilicum ‘Pluto’
Often used in cookery, medicine and cosmetics for the scented essential oils in its leaves. Mint can improve digestion, boost immunity, sooth skin, relieve nausea and allergies and combat bad breath. Lavender is used in aromatherapy for relaxation and in herbal medicine rosemary is used to ease pain.

Coleus scutellarioides  ‘Pineapplette’ AGM
Salvia patens ‘Patio Sky Blue’
Common family traits 

Thymus ‘Lemon Variegated’

The family even includes houseplants (Plectranthus) and trees (teak). The flowers are bilaterally symmetrical with five united petals and five united sepals. The leaves are equal and opposite each other or whorled. Stems are frequently square in cross section, though there are exceptions.

Mythic mints

Chromolithographic plate depicting a figure draped in rosemary and carrying a sprig of rosemary. The figure is looking backwards towards a cherub holding a bow and arrow. Title taken from Hamlet. Artist's stamp LR corner. From the book Flowers From Shakespeare’s Garden by Walter Crane.
Chromolithographic plate depicting two standing figures in dresses made of mint, each holding a stem of mint. Title taken from The Winter’s Tale. Artist’s stamp LL corner. From the book Flowers From Shakespeare’s Garden by Walter Crane
 
In Greek mythology Mintha was a mistress of Hades, the god of the underworld, but she was turned into a plant by his jealous wife Persephone. Hades could not reverse the transformation but he bestowed upon the plant the sweet mint fragrance in recompense.

Lavender has long symbolised romance and 15th-century English superstition held that unmarried women would see their true love if they drank lavender tea on St Luke’s Day (18 October).

In folklore, Rosemary is believed to ward off evil spirits, protect against the plague and attract friends. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, as she descends into madness Ophelia gives out rosemary saying ‘There's rosemary, that's for remembrance’.

Sage cuttings

At RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival

Following the successful All About Asteraceae beds at the Festival in 2024, graduates of the London College of Garden Design are returning to explore the Lamiaceae Family. Book tickets to the Festival (1-6 July 2025) to see their fragrant collections and discover more about this remarkable and versatile family.

Book tickets to RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival where you can enjoy the For the Love of Lamiaceae display
 

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The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity. We aim to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place.